Duty to give information
Duty to give information Road Traffic 1988 s. 172. R. (Purnell) v Snaresbrook Crown Court In a recent driving case, the registered keeper of a vehicle successfully appealed against the ruling of a Crown Court judge. The Crown Court had applied the wrong legal test when interpreting the duty imposed…
Recovery of legal costs if successful
If successful in defending a case at the Magistrates’ Court or Crown Court, I will make an application for a Defendant’s Costs Order. The effect of the order is that all the legal costs are paid out of a Government fund. In November 2011, two clients were granted such orders…
Duty to provide information
Road Traffic Act 1988, section 172. It may be tempting to decide that punishment can be avoided by ignoring the requirement to provide information under this section. Please don’t think so. This piece of legislation has teeth, and rather an unpleasant sting in its tail! When an offence has been…
Mobile telephones
Road Traffic Act 1988, section 41 D. The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No.4) Regulations 2003. This Section states that no person shall drive a motor vehicle on the road if he is using a hand-held mobile telephone, or a hand-held device which performs an interactive communication. A person…
Mobile Phones: Drama on the Roads
Today’s Daily Telegraph reports something we’ve probably all noticed in recent months if not years: drivers are still using their phones, and the trend is even increasing – despite higher fines if they are caught. Beware! This report is bound to lead to some kind of action – an even…
Penalty points disqualification
Penalty points disqualification; Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, s. 35. When a person’s penalty points number 12 or more the Court must order him to be disqualified for not less than a minimum period (usually six months), unless exceptional hardship would follow from the disqualification; or alternatively, mitigating circumstances may…